Local Mexican eatery satisfies student hunger

A burrito is not a fancy meal, but it’s a portable and delicious wrap that eases the load off a busy college student’s agenda.

With the new semester beginning, students will notice a new burrito place, The Burrito Shop in the Abella Center right across El Portal Drive from Contra Costa College.

A tasty blob of a combination of meat, rice, bean, salsa, cheese and sour cream is what makes the Super Burrito the king of all burritos in this small shop.

Made up of tacos, tamales, burritos, nachos and quesadillas, the menu does not have a wide selection to choose from, but the choices of meats and extra ingredients add a more personalized touch and variation to one’s meal.

One of the restaurant’s disappointments is the stale tortilla chips.

The chips are hard to chew and will get stuck to your teeth like gum.

Burritos and tortilla chips are the Latino version of burgers and french fries. They go together, so it spoils the meal when one of them fails to satisfy.

Stale tortilla chips are as anticlimactic as floppy, overly greasy french fries. For the patrons’ sake, it would be in The Burrito Shop’s best interest to fix that one flaw.

The most interesting item on the menu would have to be the CCC Burrito. The two-foot long monstrosity, that takes at least two people to prepare and wrap, is a combination of three burritos for the price of $11.99. It would most likely leave a CCC students in a coma-like state before they even had the chance to finish half.

The tamales only come in two flavors, none of which are vegetarian, but vegetarians should not fear because there are vegetarian options for the rest of the items on the menu.

There is a CCC student special being offered where students purchasing one burrito may get a free drink by presenting their student ID.

The restaurant is not a big place, but the servers are friendly.

The pale orange walls of the restaurant room give it a comforting and homelike feeling.

Customers who have the time to sit down and enjoy their meal will be able to freshen up on their history of San Pablo, which is depicted in both photos and documents displayed around the shop, bringing an interesting addition to the local  shop.

Overall, The Burrito Shop could use some small improvements.

The lack of eye-catching menu options makes it hard to encourage customers to spend their money in such a small shop.

Because the service is quick and the food is delicious and reasonably priced, The Burrito Shop is worth going to.

It is as if The Burrito Shop was meant for food-deprived college students and vice versa. Except for those tortilla chips.